Daryl's Precious Gem: Iridescent (Daryl Dixon/ Negan Fanfiction)

32: Cornered

We all nodded in agreement and anxiously waited as Daryl opened the door, allowing Rick to step out followed by Daryl himself. Gradually we all vacated the RV and scoped our surroundings as we ventured deeper into the forest. It was late in the afternoon and soon would turn to nightfall. Carl stayed on my right and aided me while Gabriel stayed on my left helping me whenever I stumbled over rocks or stumps.

After bush whacking for two hours my ribs felt like they were on fire and my feet felt like they weighed a ton. Every part of my body wanted to stop and rest but I refused to slow the others down more than I already had. Carl, Gabriel and I took the rear while Rick and Michonne took the lead. Daryl was barely visible through the trees as he scouted ahead. As much as I longed to talk with Daryl about what happened I appreciated the time it gave me to prepare myself for what he had to say. I prepared myself for rejection. The, 'I want nothing to do with you!' or the, 'You no longer have my trust!' or my least favourite, 'I no longer love you.'

I had no clue if Daryl would even bother talking to me. Maybe he would just ignore me until one of us decided to leave first. But deep down I knew I couldn't stand not talking to him about what had happened. Maybe it would be different for him but I still wanted a proper goodbye.

"How are you feeling Ruby?" Morgan asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"As good as it gets." I lied. To my dismay I stumbled, losing my footing and almost causing Carl to fall to the ground.

"You need a break!" Carl groaned as he lifted me upright once more.

"We can't afford to take a break!" I protested.

"She's right." Rick sighed, sliding his hatchet through his belt loop. Rick wrapped my arms around his neck before lifting me off the ground and carrying me onward while Carl and Morgan trailed behind with my weapons.

"Rick, don't waste your energy on me! Just leave me behind." I pleaded.

"It's the least I can do," Rick glanced around before speaking lowly, "Especially after what you pulled off."

A small smile grew on my face as I mouthed out a silent thank you to Rick. After everything I at least still had his support. From my peripherals Michonne had a distasteful glint in her eyes that even went down to her mouth which held a sneer. I knew she saw me as the villain and a lot of people would. It was just something they'd have to accept—what I had to accept.

"Anything up ahead?" Gabriel asked, a little too loud might I add.

"Shh!" Daryl hissed as he came to an abrupt halt. "Get down!"

Everyone immediately dropped to the ground and froze, listening for movement in the forest that surrounded us. Rick somehow managed not to drop me while kneeling down with me still in his arms. I would thank him later if we made it through the night!

"What is it?" Morgan whispered.

"Shh!" Daryl repeated.

My heart raced as I tried my best to scope out the dark forest. We were extremely vulnerable right now. Any wrong move or encounter could cost us our lives!

A minute felt like an eternity as we all held our breaths and waited for Daryl's signal that the coast was clear. It wasn't until Daryl started standing up when in the distance a branch breaking made my ears perk.